Blue badge police again

[Rainburstflowers]

Name changes for this as I do every so often.
I have blue badge but my disability is not visible.
For the 3rs time in 2 weeks I have been challenged about not looking disabled and I am fed up of explaining myself

yesterday got out the car and this man came charging towards me shouting “oi you don’t have a blue badge”. I sighed and said “yes I do”. He then said “where did you nick that from?”
I said “I didn’t nick it from anyone I got it off eBay”
He then looked at me and said “oh right and walked off”
as if that was then ok!!!!
or it could be my built like a brick shithouse husband opened his door and got out the drivers seat.

I know I should not have said the eBay comment but I am fed up of explaining myself.

if anyone has any good comebacks please let me know

"He usually tells them to go get a traffic warden and he will show them the badge."

He should have the badge on display if he's using disabled spaces. If he doesn't, then I don't blame people for challenging him,and he is deliberately being an arse to get footage for YouTube.

People are very ignorant. My friends sister gets very dirty looks when she stands up from her wheelchair.

people seem to think disabled is paralyzed in wheelchair, can’t even think, that some have because they struggle to walk long distances etc

It’s strange. If I am with young adult DS people feel the need to check for a badge and comment. With my dad in his 70s it never happens. It’s a prime example of agism when it comes to disability

I rarely react to them now! Once or twice I’ve nipped back at them, especially the woman who chased us round tescos shouting we stole her space as we are not disabled. Even summoning workers to advise them of such. The badge isn’t mine, it’s my daughters! One look at her tells you why she has the blue badge, it’s pretty damn obvious from oxygen tanks, feeding tubes and a disability pram.

I lifted my daughter to face her and asked if she was disabled enough for her liking, also asking her what her disability was as if she could chase me round a shop she’s clearly fit enough to walk and extra couple of meters in a car park.

Some people are actually shameless, I’ve had a woman justify parking in a space with her elderly father in law, he was wheelchair bound and they were awaiting his badge. She was worried I was going to have a pop at her given how many times it happened before. All I’m interested in is getting my shopping and going home, not policing people.

Actually it should be an offence to challenge if someone is really disabled, why should they justify their disability to anyone and given what is being stated here, it's very aggressive too.

Blue badge fraud - let police, DVLA, Council - whoever officially regulates it should police it.

Blue badge parking - let the parking / venue police it.

He does have it on display but you display it face-up on the dash, and the badge holder's name and photo are on the back.

I'm guessing he tells them to get a traffic warden because only police and traffic wardens can legally ask to inspect a blue badge (in Scotland, anyway). He's saying he'll prove that he's entitled to park there but only to a traffic warden - not the Nosy Nelly.

There is a lot of Blue Badge fraud so I can understand why people are concerned.

As a wheelchair user I need the extra space around the car to get in and out and to get the chair out. A lot of badge holders (like my nephew) don't need that extra space so maybe there should be a two tier form of parking. Leave the extra space for those who cannot access the are without it.

You think it's perfectly acceptable that someone with no authority questions a Blue Badge holder. What information to you think they are entitled to know?
You see these BBP as putting themselves out for what is right or wrong, yet you admit you've never challenged anyone. So if you you think it's the right thing to do, why do you turnaway?
Being challenged for having Blue Badge is not a game. You have been told why it's wrong by people who are entitled to a Blue Badge. Yet instead of accepting that, you are being arsey. So don't give toss and let people sort out their own issues. You were no fucking help anyway.

Brilliant response, well done!!
I have a hidden disability too and a blue badge. So far never been challenged.

I’ve just got a blue badge for autistic DS and have had this a few times. I was chatting about it with a fellow parent from DS’ specialist school and she avoids being challenged by slapping “autistic child on board” type stickers all over her car. I don’t really want to do this because it seems very “outing” for DS, who may not want splash his neurotype publicly. I’m not even sure that the average person realizes that “autistic” can mean “liable to run off in any random direction at speed, may dive under your wheels if he hears a noisy motorbike, has absolutely no sense of danger in busy traffic” etc. I do wish the “that’s a disabled space!” busybodies would fuck all the way off though. My best comeback (spoken with heavy sarcasm) was “Is it? Gosh I had no idea! Thanks for telling me!” whilst flouncing off into the shop with very anxious and stimmy DS.

“Maybe the best thing would be to scrap the blue badge scheme entirely, then the problem of the BBP goes away”

How would that solve any issue? Have you seen how they act about parent with pram parks?
Calling parents entitled and ridiculous names because they utilise parking spaces designed to help protect a vulnerable section of the community.
If they took the badges away the same thing would happen to people who require the use of the disabled parking.
The badges are there to protect another vulnerable section of the community.

People need to stop being arseholes, there are other ways to go about stopping people using them. One includes using your god damn eyes and looking for the blue badges and the other includes picking up your phone and reporting them.

Sorry to read you are being challenged so much. It really is SO ignorant as many disabilities are not visible.

I wouldn't waste my time arguing with such ignorant people. However, if you want to maybe you could just suggest to them that they go online (their local council) to see the hoops you hve to jump through to get such a badge - proof etc.

I applied for one for my dad (he has rapidly declinign dementia and unsafe around traffic / understanding / following instructions etc)

Such people need to challenge those inapproripately using parent and child spaces. It is much more obvious who abuses them (the absence of kids!)

Same OP! I’ve been physically attacked once before and every single time I park at the supermarket I get “Oi!” Sick of it. Never once has it been a young person, either. Not once. Every. Single. Time it has been someone 50+ at least. I’m NOT being ageist, just stating a fact.
Perhaps it’s because historically, the term ‘disabled’ was only ever used for people in a wheelchair. So some of that is still imprinted on some of the older generations. Not all, obviously.
My 81yr old mother winces whenever I refer to my autistic DC as disabled. The first time I said it, she looked horrified and said “She isn’t disabled just because she has Autism for goodness sake! What nonsense” So I then had to explain in detail what the term disabled actually refers to. She didn’t like that but stopped making comments.
Again, I am NOT being ageist, just explaining my experiences.

I have often thought about this problem. For example, I'm aware some people need more space at the side to get a ramp out, and some people (me) need more space at the back to get a ramp out. I wish more BB spaces had hatching at the back, especially in busy carparks, because whoever's with me has to unload my wheelchair into the traffic. So I'm mindful of which space I use if there's one that looks like it has more side space.
However, it would be really complicated to sort out the badging for. Most days, I use my powerchair, and then (for me), the space is more important than the distance. Some days I use my walker for short distances, and then the distance is more important than the space. So I'd need a badge for both "tiers", and it would presumably rely on me to use my discretion. Which I do anyway, because I'm considerate of other disabled people. But those who don't, wouldn't with that system.

He could run? Seriously?

i guess all the Paralympic people are not disabled then

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/0JdeXnEHT3U

you need to educate yourself on the many complex variable conditions that exist and how they affect the person

I can think of many severe illnesses and disabilities that allow a person to run and even move around better than an able bodied person on good days/moments. Or can run, but the person then pays for it later. Or can run fast, but disabled in other areas.

@OhCalmTheFuckDownMargaretAnd how do you know that none of her kids were disabled? Now who’s being judgmental

I have a blue badge, invisible issues and am in my early 40's. I do have good days and bad days so only use my badge on bad days leaving the spaces for people who need it more when I dont. I have yet to have someone shout at me but on most ocassions I have used it I have had people give me filthy looks when I get out of the car. They soon look down when they see me struggling to walk on my bad days because I'm in so much pain. It really pisses me off as I had to jump through hoops to get my BB and as I said only use it when I really need it so not abusing it.

I have had one person that knows me, that didn't know I had a badge and asked why they had seen me parking in a BB space when they had seen me in regular spaces and just explained that my bad days had been getting worse and taking longer to recover from so sometimes I just need that bit of help with parking and they were cool about it. Was happy to talk to them as they knew me but certainly wouldn't want to disclose my issues to a stranger.

I've never understood why blue badges don't have photo ID on them. That would stop the harassment maybe? Not that anyone with a BB owes anyone an explanation. The level of ableism in the UK is depressing.

They do. On the reverse side. The side we don't have to display.

They do. But it's on the reverse of the badge

He could run huh?

all them paralympics people would be shocked to find out they are not disabled

Paralympics

Ah, I see. It's weird they do it that way.

I don't know about anyone else but I'm glad they do it the way they do. I don't want it being advertised to everyone that I'm disabled. (I can't drive so obviously when I'm in the car it's with someone else)

Why? I would readily show it when challenged by an appropriate body but why should it be on display to the rest of the world? When DH had terminal cancer he was eligible for a BB but wouldn't have wanted his photo on display to the world as lots of people weren't aware of his diagnosis at first.

We’ve been in the system too long now so I don’t give a shit, but when we got my son's first wheelchair adapted van and was approached by BBP, my BIL’s response was my favourite. When challenged, he replied the kid’s severely disabled and I’ve got Tourette’s so fuck off.

Having a big van looks like we’re a builder so we often get challenged. We no longer engage but still enjoy seeing their face when we open the back and bring our son down on the wheelchair ramp. With oxygen, feeding tube etc on show.

@Tessasanderson be careful what you wish for. Most of us would never imagine needing a blue badge space but life can throw a curve ball and change your future in a second.